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A very technical question...

baz1191

Active Member
Messages
27
Location
County Durham
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Exercise / saving money ...All the things I should be doing
Just wondering if any of you have any ideas on this.
I am type 1 for a year, and due to being in hospital 3 times with DKA I've lost a bit of weight, bordering underweight for my height and age.
Currently not on any low carb diet and taking 20 Lantus and varying nova rapid depending on what I eat.
I have read that BODY BUILDERS use insulin because it helps push sugar and carbs into muscles.
 
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From BBC news regarding body builders and Insulin.

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Bodybuilders 'abusing insulin'
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It is easy to overdose on insulin
Doctors believe that an increasing number of bodybuilders are putting themselves at risk by injecting themselves with insulin.
The drug, normally given to diabetics to help control their blood sugar levels, is highly effective at helping bodybuilders boost their muscle mass.

However, this comes at a price - careless use could cause a plummet in blood sugar levels which could leave the bodybuilder at risk of coma, or even death.

Over the long term, the extra insulin could cause irreversible long-term damage.

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These people already have enough insulin. What they are doing is extremely risky
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Spokesman, Diabetes UK
Bodybuilders who use insulin could end up becoming diabetic themselves as their body's natural mechanism for producing the hormone stops working properly, warn experts.

The problem was highlighted by Dr Richard Lynch, an A&E doctor from Pontefract General Infirmary in Yorkshire, who encountered a bodybuilder who was found unconscious at home.

His symptoms matched those of a diabetic who had experienced "hypoglycaemia" - dangerously low blood sugar.

However, as he came round it was revealed that he was a bodybuilder who had been taking insulin to improve his muscle bulk.

Sugar boost

"Normal" practice among bodybuilders taking insulin is to combine the drug with a large amount of sugary food to stop blood sugar levels dropping too low.

However, because the 31-year-old was close to a competition, he had, in addition, been on a strict diet, which compounded the problem.

Although the man later recovered fully, Dr Lynch offered this warning to other bodybuilders.

He said: "This potentially lethal drug has serious consequences should things go wrong, particularly as it is usually used in secret.

"This puts the user at risk of developing hypoglycaemia for prolonged periods away from possible medical assistance, potentially resulting in coma and death."

The precise source of the insulin is unknown, although it is rumoured that some diabetics sell some of their prescribed insulin to bodybuilders.

Extreme risk

A spokesman for Diabetes UK said that it was particularly dangerous for a non-diabetic to take insulin.

She said: "These people already have enough insulin. What they are doing is extremely risky.

"It's extremely easy to overdose on insulin if you haven't been trained in what to do."

She said that the training process for newly-diagnosed type I diabetics was, at least at first, normally carried out in hospital by experienced diabetes doctors and specialist nurses to gauge exactly how much insulin each patient needed.

Insulin abuse is also suspected in professional sport as an alternative to anabolic steroids - which can be detected by testing.

In contrast, an insulin injection is virtually undetectable.

The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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Dude. With the best wishes in the world. I believe you have your answer from DD's post above mine..
If you wish to join a gym do so by all means & exercise....

I'm no "man moutain" myself. But as an aside I had a strenuous job a couple of years back where I spent the best part of 10/11 hours a day lugging weight. In many cases up & down stairs... I had to reduce my (Lantus) basal dose a couple of clicks to compensate for the activity on work days (I was having too many hypos.) & still developed definition & muscle tone on the arms, shoulders and abs.. Much to the delight of my wife..
 
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Anyone here as a NON diabetic isn't and wont encouraged to attempt insulin therapy at all .
Far too dangerous to do so .
 
Why I am not a ripped beast then?

:)

Lol. The idea is a bit silly if you look at it... Non D weight lifter tries it & blood sugar levels drop rapidly & dangerously low.. :eek: So they cancel the training & reach for the multi pack of Mars bars & 2 litre bottle of coke.. :confused: That's IF they know they're in trouble...? We all know what hypoglycaemicia can be mistaken for.. It's even easier to mistake it with a non D. Sadly the "experiment" could end up perpetually "sleeping it off" in a police cell..!
 
the only thing i can think of to say on this topic is to use expletives.
none of us would take manufactured insulin if our bodies produced it correctly.

underwhelmed by anybody thinking of doing so.
 
Anyone here as a NON diabetic isn't and wont encouraged to attempt insulin therapy at all .
Far too dangerous to do so .
Twenty minutes walking in daylight whether the sun is bright or not gives your body the opportunity to produce all the vitamin D it requires.
 
You need sufficient insulin to store carbohydrates as glycogen and for the synthesis of muscle.
Those body builders who abuse insulin use it to do both but as they have their own insulin they are at serious risk of killing themselves.
This is why they do it.
http://nattyornot.com/dorian-yates-milos-ruined-bodybuilding-forever/
Here's just one example of the risk http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotla...-led-to-scottish-bodybuilder-s-death-1-521963
Type one diabetics don't have any of their own insulin (or not enough to do much). If you have lost weight and have had three bouts of DKA then you probably aren't taking insulin at the right times and the right amount .
You need to take insulin to replace natural sources .
Take enough insulin at the right time, eat a sensible diet and do some exercise
Have a look at this online course that may help you to adjust your insulin because your first task surely is to avoid DKA.
http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/
 
You have read correctly. I don't think i saw a question in your post, but I am assuming you want to know how they use it so that you can use it similarly and gain muscle?

The answer is simple-ish. The insulin essentially bind to glucose and allows that glucose entry into the muscle where it can be used as fuel, which is why when you go DKA your muscles burn fat and themselves since they can't use the glucose.

The idea behind why body builders do it is that if they inject more insulin, they can pull more then their 'natural' amount into their muscles and those have more fuel to burn while lifting. More then just insulin they load their blood up with its max potential capacity of vitamins and nutrients and then following a work out the forces blood to the muscles they inject insulin which essentially opens up the gates and allows all that stuff to be shuttled directly into the muscles to restore, repair and help build muscle. All of this on top of what their bodies natural do.

This same principle could be of use to you, but without other enhancing drugs you will likely just get fat because as a T1D if we inject insulin we need carbs or else we go too low. You too can go out and buy more vitamins, pre-workout shakes, intra-workout shakes, and post workout shakes, but you still will need to do the ridiculously intense workouts they do, just so you can go home and take your insulin as per usual and eat a healthy meal lol Maybe you would take more then normal, and eat more then normal.. that MAY help... but without the actual workout its not magic.

So, in actuality you would just be eating more food with the goal of injecting more insulin.... Its the same as if any normal guy just ate more. The results would likely be the same - weight gain lol

So just eat well and enough, and lift heavy and frequently and you will put on mass.
 
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Just wondering if any of you have any ideas on this.
I am type 1 for a year, and due to being in hospital 3 times with DKA I've lost a bit of weight, bordering underweight for my height and age.
Currently not on any low carb diet and taking 20 Lantus and varying nova rapid depending on what I eat.
I have read that BODY BUILDERS use insulin because it helps push sugar and carbs into muscles.

Sorry for being blunt, but it looks to me like you're in denial of having diabetes and are looking for a quick fix for the visible signs of uncontrolled diabetes. Basically, anyone who has 3 episodes of DKA in their first year of diabetes is not managing their condition adequately to have a long healthy life. Accept that you have a lifelong serious condition and start behaving accordingly. Get some help from your diabetes team to get a plan in place for eating properly and injecting accordingly. Forget what body builders do or don't do and concentrate on a plan and routine for managing your health - and stick to it.

Smidge
 
@smidge is bluntly correct on this matter lol

DKA should be like a 3 times in a lifetime occurrence, not per year. I had DKA when i was diagnosed and lost about 30lbs and probably half my muscle mass, which took years of working out to build, and I am still lagging way behind in terms of putting it back on.

There are no safe shortcuts sadly (i have looked HARD lol )

The best you can do is control your levels - DKA and lows will really hurt gains - eat clean, lower carb, higher protein meals, and lift heavy and frequently. Its all about consistency when trying to build muscle, random unplanned workouts whenever you feel like it won't do you any good. You have to set a strict meal and lifting calender and stick to it for at least 6 months to see a change.

The good news here is that you likely have a great physique to start with! Starting lean, and underweight you will see results much faster, and you get to skip all the boring stuff associated with loosing weight and jump right in lifting!
 
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